ADP: December Private Sector Employment Shows 271,000 Increase

January 4, 2019

Ahead of Friday’s jobs report, ADP, Roseland, N.J., said employment appears to be undeterred by changing market conditions for now.

The company’s December National Employment Report said private-sector employment increased by 271,000 jobs from November to December. By company size, small businesses (1-50 employees) added 89,000 jobs; medium businesses (50-499 employees) added 129,000 jobs; and large employers added 54,000 jobs.

The report said financial services added 7,000 jobs between November and December; professional/business services added 66,000 jobs.

“We wrapped up 2018 with another month of significant growth in the labor market,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute. “Although there were increases in most sectors, the busy holiday season greatly impacted both trade and leisure and hospitality. Small businesses also experienced their strongest month of job growth all year.”

“Businesses continue to add aggressively to their payrolls despite the stock market slump and the trade war,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “Favorable December weather also helped lift the job market. At the current pace of job growth, low unemployment will get even lower.”